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Desk learning

We know that the key factors in adults' achievement of good maths and English skills are:

  • the quality of teaching methods and resources,
  • that learners feel their learning is relevant to their working lives, and
  • that there is adequate support for their learning.

Unions have demonstrated repeatedly that they can address all three of these factors.

Resources & tools

BBC Skillswise

Free English and maths resources broken down by topic, nearly everyone in our research group felt that Skillswise offers accessible supplementary learning resources.

The site is highly interactive, and includes quizzes, videos, and games, so there is plenty of variety to keep learners interested.

E, M, F, ER, LSR, ULR, LC (Key)


BKSB

BKSB

Learning resources, including online tools and workbooks, which can be accessed by purchasing a twelve month licence. These can be used for preparation for either functional skills or GCSE assessments.

Our research indicates that these resources can be especially useful for learning centre workers who are less-experienced teachers, to provide a structured programme for their learners, and provide ongoing feedback.

The BKSB resources are focused on preparing for assessments - and several practitioners recommended using additional support resources to complement them, and provide a broader learning experience. A free trial is available on the site.

E, M, C, FS, LC (Key)


 

Dictionary.com

Dictionary

A useful supplementary resource for English learners, this site comprises an online dictionary and thesaurus, with a translation tool and interactive games.

Includes a blog with articles on commonly confused or misused words.

E, F, LSR, ULR, LC (Key)


English for everybody

English for everyone

Aimed primarily at ESOL learners, this site contains multimedia lessons graded from beginner to advanced.

It also features tests, games, book reviews and a section on improving written English, which some respondents reported native English speakers had found useful too.

E, F, LSR, LC (Key)


Excellence Gateway

excellence gateway

The Education and Training Foundation's (ETF) resources portal, this site provides a range of freely accessible resources for learning providers. There is a searchable database of English, maths and ESOL resources that can be useful for learning centres supporting these learners.

Once registered for an account, users can start building a collection of the available resources, which include initial and diagnostic assessment tools, and learning planning tools.

There are also some interactive online lessons, sorted by learning level, which learners can use to develop and practise their skills.

E, M, LSR, LC (Key)


FutureLearn

FutureLearn

Free courses in a range of subjects, which may be useful for learner engagement in English and maths.

The site provides a gateway to the learning, which is delivered online by a variety of international learning providers in partnership with the Open University.

The courses run on specific dates, so learners need to be able to start and finish according to the timetable set by the provider. Certificates of participation are available and, for some courses, learners can sit an exam at one of many OU local centres.

E, M, F, ER, ULR, LC (Key)


Khan Academy

Khan Academy

This site offers free learning in a range of subjects, including maths. Although Khan Academy is a US-based organisation, so the courses map to American qualifications, unions reported using it for supporting maths learners.

In particular, we received favourable comments about the progression that the site offers, from very basic to advanced level maths. The site offers instructional videos with practice exercises, and there are discussion boards for learners to raise questions.

Once registered, learners can access a personalised learning dashboard to keep track of learning, which can take place at the learner's own pace. Additionally, the site offers a 'coaching' facility, which ULRs or learning centre workers could potentially use to support learners, access resources and reference materials.

M, F, ULR, LC (Key)


Maths Is Fun

Maths is fun

Free maths games, puzzles and reference resources, including worksheets with solutions.

This site is primarily designed as a resource for school teachers, but also works well for adult learning, according to comments from our research group.

M, ER, F, LSR, ULR, LC (Key)


National Numeracy Challenge

National numeracy

A site aimed to help adults learn the maths needed for everyday life. Once registered for a free account, learners can take the challenge, which then indicates areas that they need to improve in. Individual unions can register for a unique web address under the National Numeracy Challenge, which then allows each union to monitor how many learners it has put through.

An important part of the challenge has been the development of Challenge Champions – volunteers who help engage and support people to take up the challenge. Several unions have reported the beneficial impact on learner engagement that champions have had. The site details how to become a champion and enrol on the training for the role.  

M, ER, F, IA, ULR (Key)


Numbernut

Numbernut

US-based site primarily consisting of explanations of mathematical concepts with worked examples. Each one builds from basic to intermediate, so it makes a useful reference resource, or source of supplementary information.

There are some practice problems and activities.

M, F, LSR, ULR, LC (Key)


OpenLearn

Openlearn

Vast range of free online courses, some of which serve as promotional tasters for the Open University’s higher education opportunities, including English and maths courses. These can form ideal supplementary or informal learning. In particular, two maths courses were mentioned by practitioners: Succeed With Maths parts 1 & 2.

It should be noted that these are quite in-depth courses of around 24 hours duration, so require a significant level of commitment. Once learners have registered for an open learn account, they can accumulate online 'badges' in recognition of learning achievement, and some of our interviewees cited this as a motivating factor for significant numbers of learners.

E, M, F, ER, ULR, LC (Key)


Quick Reads

Quick reads

A series of books designed to be shorter and more accessible for adults who are less confident about reading, Quick Reads are aimed at readers from Entry Level 3 upwards. Many unions have built up workplace or learning centre libraries of these books, which have proved a highly successful means of encouraging workers to get back into reading.

The books can be purchased for around £1 each at a range of outlets, and large print versions are also available. There is a substantial range of titles in the Quick Reads catalogue with something to suit most tastes.

One of our respondents described them as 'good seeding for workplace book groups, book clubs and book swaps', though added a note of caution to consider your likely readers before ordering, so that appropriate titles are ordered for your target group (see Reading Ahead).

E, ER, ULR, LC (Key)


The Reading Agency

Reading agency

Charity that promotes and encourages reading via a range of campaigns, like Reading Ahead, Quick Reads and World Book Night. It works in partnership with local libraries to make reading opportunities available.

The website is a useful resource for keeping up with developments around the campaigns and picking up tips around learner engagement.

E, ER, ULR, LC (Key)


Reading Ahead

Reading ahead

Formerly known as the Six Book Challenge, Reading Ahead is one of the initiatives coordinated by the Reading Agency. It aims to change adults’ perception of reading and encourage reading for pleasure.

Readers can record their reading achievements and their thoughts about what they have read, and are encouraged to discuss online with other readers. The site includes a handy search tool that allows users to search for suitable Quick Reads by subject matter and level.

UNISON and the Reading Agency have together produced a guide which is full of ideas on using Reading Ahead. See the UNISON case study.

E, ER, ULR, LC (Key)


Skills for Life Network

Skills for life

A news and information resource for anyone interested in English, maths or ESOL, the site includes some freely-downloadable resources, mainly of use to trained tutors or learning centre workers.

However, the site is primarily concerned with signposting to other resources, in particular the Excellence Gateway (see above). You can subscribe to the site for news updates, details of training courses etc.E, M, LC (Key)


Skills Forward

Skills forward

A suite of online resources including screening, initial assessments, diagnostics and learning resources, all designed around achievement of Functional Skills qualifications. Organisations can purchase an annual licence with the number of credits they need for anticipated learner demand, so For Skills will primarily be of use to learning centres with a large number of learners and adequate funding support.

One of our respondents recommended Skills Forward on the basis of the quality of the materials and learning management functionality for both learners and administrators.

E, M, FS, IA, LC (Key)


 Skills Workshop

Skills workshop

Highly recommended by practitioners for supplementary learning resources, this is an online store of user-generated learning resources, which can be freely downloaded as PDF or Word documents, and adapted to learners’ needs.

It is constructed in the form of a searchable database, and is extremely user-friendly. By creating a free account you can also upload and share your own materials with the wider English and maths community. In particular, colleagues reported downloading materials to support learners who had struggled with resources mapped to Functional Skills assessments, to aid broader understanding of specific topics.

As such, these resources are probably most suitable for use by trained learning centre workers or tutors, but some could be adapted relatively easily for engagement purposes.

E, M, F, ER, LSR, ULR, LC (Key)


Times Educational Supplement

TES

Free to register, searchable database of resources on a wide range of subjects, including English and maths support resources. Several practitioners reported occasional use of this site for supplementary learning resources.

E, M, F, LSR, LC (Key)


TUC Education

TUC Education

TUC Education provides a broad range of training for trade union reps and professionals in England, Scotland and Wales. TUC Education courses include training for all kinds of reps, including:

E, F, M, LC, ULR (Key)


Using English

using english

Site aimed primarily at ESOL learners, but many of the resources could be adapted for anyone learning English.

The site contains online and paper-based quizzes, tests and teacher hand-outs that could be downloaded and used as reference material, or to build group activities around.

E, F, LSR, LC (Key)


World Book Night

World book night

An annual celebration of reading held on 23 April, this site coordinates international events encouraging adults to get back into reading.

It makes a useful focus for an engagement campaign at the workplace.

E, ER, ULR, LC (Key)

Key
E = English resourcesM = Maths resources
F = FreeFS = Can be used to prepare for Functional Skills assessments
ER = Engagement ResourcesLSR = Learning Support Resources that can be used to supplement course work or tutor-led sessions
IA = Initial Assessment toolULR = Recommended for ULRs to use/signpost learners to
LC = Recommended for Learning Centre staff or tutors with experience of supporting English and maths learners.

The aim of this guide

english-maths-resources-400

Faced with a vast array of options for English and maths learning, how do unions choose the tools that will be appropriate to their needs? Issues of cost accessibility, availability and, of course, quality all need to be considered.

This guidance provides useful and accessible information to union officers, Union Learning Fund (ULF) project managers, learning organisers and union learning reps (ULRs) on tools and resources, and how they can be made use of in workplace learning context.

The aim of this guide is to support unions in making choices that will enable them to engage even more learners. Each resource included appears here because our research, which drew on the experience of key contacts in trade unions that have successfully engaged and supported English and maths learners, indicates that unions have found it useful in some way.

The comments on the resources are, therefore, summarised from the input of practitioners with direct experience of using them in a variety of different workplace contexts.

If you know of useful resources that have been omitted from the guide, this is either because we are unaware of their existence, or because we have had no feedback from unions about their effectiveness.

Please tell us about any resources not included here that you think would be useful for other unions to know about.

In the course of our discussions we heard about some interesting, creative practices that unions had developed around English and maths learning. These practices provided further proof, if it were needed, of unions' uniquely innovative responses to the challenges around learner engagement, learning support and provision of learning materials. In our view, they deserved a mention in their own right, so we have included some very brief details within this guide, following the resources section.

Trade unions tackling English and maths

Trade unions continue to play a key role in engaging adults in English and maths learning. Through collective bargaining, unions persuade employers to acknowledge the importance of good basic skills in the workplace.

Given the diverse workplaces that unions organise in, there will always be different factors to be considered and strategies to be adopted. We have compiled some examples of unions working with English and maths learners that might be instructive and inspirational for others.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the following for sharing their experience to enable us to compile this guidance:

Andy Taylor, Aegis

Vikki Botham, Britannia Staff Union

Paul Dovey, CWU

Nicky Volley and Gareth Williams, POA Learning

Emma Lipscombe, Martin Russo and Jon Tennison, UNISON

Jeff Latham and Judith Swift, URTU

Martin Bamford, USDAW

Shazia Shahid, Workers’ Educational Association

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